Acapulco is experiencing a tragedy. At least 46 people have died and 58 are missing in the state of Guerrero due to the passage of Hurricane Otis, according to the latest report from Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda.
Images showing the destruction of the city have been published on social networks and the media. Likewise, it has been reported that there are organizations that are collaborating with food and other supplies for citizens. In recent days, Acapulco has had problems in the distribution of water and electricity services.
Junto al presidente municipal @OssielPacheco, unimos todo nuestro esfuerzo para seguir atendiendo a las personas que más lo necesitan, entregando también insumos básicos como el agua y la ayuda alimentaria; además de refrendar todo nuestro compromiso en el proceso de… pic.twitter.com/v4cibwdPsU
— Evelyn Salgado Pineda (@EvelynSalgadoP) October 31, 2023
"Thanks to the great work of the Federal Electricity Commission team, 65% of the electricity service in Acapulco has been restored so far. The effort is titanic so that the service reaches all homes as soon as possible," explained the governor of Guerrero.
According to the report of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, so far more than 10,000 homes affected by the hurricane have been censused. The natural disaster has generated millions of dollars in infrastructure losses in homes and businesses. According to a Bloomberg analysis, immediate resources are required to address the damage, which could reach as high as $15 billion in Acapulco alone.
“Vamos a ayudar a todos los damnificados”: Presidente @lopezobrador_.
La secretaria de @bienestarmx, @A_MontielR, informó que los 1,103 servidores de la nación continúan levantando un censo casa por casa, y hay 10 mil 468 viviendas y comercios censados en #Acapulco.… pic.twitter.com/QR7ektzbND
— Gobernación (@SEGOB_mx) October 30, 2023
However, Bloomberg highlights that it is too early to establish the exact amount that will be needed to rebuild the city. What is clear is that the situation arises at a time when the president is being criticized for not traveling to Guerrero. The president maintained that he decided not to go to the area to avoid "a spectacle."
“I'm not there because I think I help more by coordinating all the actions from here, everything that is required and if necessary I will go, but I don't want to make a spectacle of this, I don't want to do the same thing that was done before. The most important thing is the facts, facts not words,” said the Mexican president in a statement collected by Infobae.
In addition, the socialist president has generated controversy for several comments he made when asked about the damage caused by the natural phenomenon. For example, he recently assured that "there have not been that many" when referring to those who died from the hurricane.
"The creator protected us. We have to wait to have all the information on the missing people and those who died, but everything indicates that there were not that many. In the face of such a strong and shocking phenomenon," AMLO commented.
#PAÍS
El presidente #AMLO afirmó esta mañana en conferencia que se tuvo suerte y no fueron tantos (muertos), y sí se avisó de la llegada de #Otis al estado de #Guerrero.pic.twitter.com/i1smGLojWJ— Portavoz Chiapas (@PortavozChiapas) October 27, 2023
During a meeting with the press, when asked about the crisis in Acapulco, the president also boasted that he is supposedly the second most approved leader in the world, after the prime minister of India.
🔴En medio de la tragedia por el huracán “Otis”, AMLO presume otra vez que es el segundo líder a nivel mundial con más aprobación, después del primer ministro de India. #LaMañaneradeAMLO https://t.co/2pmOjWhr4g pic.twitter.com/ySS3HGbZze
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) October 26, 2023
Despite the emergency that the citizens of Guerrero are experiencing, it was learned that the Morena Party - AMLO's party - and its allies do not plan to approve funds for the victims of Acapulco in the 2024 Federation Expenditure Budget in the short term. This was reported by the Mexican newspaper El Universal. "Morena and its allies will wait until the federal government determines what the cost of reconstruction will be, to propose a budget to help the victims of Guerrero, due to the passage of Hurricane Otis," reported the media outlet.
Meanwhile, deputies from other parties such as Jorge Romero, coordinator of the Parliamentary Group of the National Action Party (PAN), ask that the budget be modified to help those affected by Otis.
"Today more than ever, we have to reach an agreement to modify the budget, there has to be a budget item, which obviously was not contemplated when the economic package was presented, specifically for aid to Acapulco, and to the people and localities that were affected," he said in a statement reviewed by The universal.
There has to be a budget modification, this, I insist, excuse the word, is not a grid, it is not a partisan grid, we are urging the colleagues of all the parliamentary groups to understand that, in truth, they should help the victims, is to help them with budgetary resources, which today more than ever are needed and needed.
